THE EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MONKEY KOLA SEED OIL.

THE EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MONKEY KOLA SEED OIL.

This study is aimed at the extraction and characterization of monkey kola seed oil.  The objectives of this study are: Extract oil from the kola by the solvent extraction method; Determine the Physico-chemical characters of the oil; Compare data with national and international standards of repeatable.

•  INTRODUCTION

The market of oil and fat is gradually expanding, probably at a rate slightly faster than the increase in population, and the demand for both domestic and industrial use is met by extracting the oil from plant and animal. Farmers and small business owners wondered if it is possible and profitable to add value to their seeds and nuts by extracting the oil but it is not easy because there are so many variables. The expansion of trade naturally puts pressure on the commodity and in the first instance,- the increase in demand can be met by the simple expedient of growing more crops (McIntosh and Miller, 2001).

Vegetable oils and fats are composed predominantly of triglycerides, which are long-chain fatty acid esters of glycerol (Ibemesi, 2014). The predominant fatty acids present in vegetable oilsand fats are saturated and unsaturated compounds with straight aliphatic chains. An even number of other fatty acids may be present in some vegetable sources, including a small amount of branched-chain, cyclic and odd number straight-chain acids (Zambiaziet al., 2014). The (minor) nonester portion of vegetable oils and fats include; phospholipids (or phosphatides), sterols, vitamins, and their precursors. The non-ester portion is usually less than 2% of the total oil. The glycerides themselves contain about 95% fatty acids and 5% glycerol (Ibemesi, 2014). The amount of glycerol is the same in all vegetable oils, hence, the differences in properties of different oils are primarily determined by the variations on the fatty acid structure (Ibemesi, 2014 and Zambiaziet al, 2014). Glycerides composed mostly of unsaturated fatty acids are oils (liquids) at room temperature, while those composed mostly of saturated fatty acids are fats (solid) at room temperature (Ibemesi, 2014).

An important feature common to most plant origin oils and fats is the high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids in the glyceride (Zambiaziet al., 2014).

Vegetable oils are one of the major components of human diets comprising as much as 25% of average caloric intake (Zambiaziet al., 2014). While high levels of saturated fatty acids are desirable to increase oil stability, on the other hand, nutritionally they become undesirable. At room temperature (25⁰C), the saturated fatty acids from 12 to 24 carbon lengths have a waxy consistency, whereas unsaturated fatty acids of these lengths are only liquids (David et al., 2005). Because of the waxy consistency of the saturated fatty acids, oils rich in saturated fatty acids tend to form diets, which result in the commonly known coronary diseases. When these oils are constantly consumed, they form solid fats deposit at the cardiac region, the arteries and the veins. These fats tend to block the free flow of blood in these arteries and veins and thus increases the pressure to the blood flow and this eventually result to high blood pressure in which case, if not treated carefully, can lead to stroke and finally kills the victim (David et al., 2005).

Though the presence of unsaturated fatty acids in oils is preferred to saturated fatty acids in terms of consumption, high amount of unsaturated fatty acids in oil makes it susceptible to polymerization and gum formation caused by oxidation during storage (Hanna et al., 1999; Society of Leather Trades Chemists, 1963).

The polymerization product is a dry or hardened (solid) film. This imparts on the oil a level of industrial utility than edibility (Ibemesi, 2014; Society of Leather Trades Chemists, 1963). The quality and purity of oils are assessed by determining the number of physical and chemical constants. The chemical constants include acid value, iodine value, saponification value, etc (Ibemesi, 2014). Of particular interest is the iodine value, because depending on its value, oils can be classified into drying, semi-drying, and non-drying. The ability of the oil to be converted into a solid film in the presence of oxygen is known as drying.

  Figure 1.1Chemical synthesis of triglycerides

• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF STUDY

A lot of work has been carried out on analysis of seed oils by a number of workers, primarily because of extensive demands for oils both for human consumption and for industrial applications; consequently, there is an increasing need to search for oils from non-conventional sources to augment the available ones and also to meet specific applications. Abakakaet al. (1989) studied oils from rubber for their peroxide value and iodine value (IV). They also gave values for the saponification number and moisture content. They concluded that the values were comparable to those of palm oil and groundnut oil. The iodine values and the peroxide value were 65 and 27.5 (ml kg^-1), respectively. The composition of the seed oil of Chlorophora excels was analyzed with a view to determining the nutritional value of the oil (Idigo,1989).

Adesomoju and Akinbo, (1996) reported that the esterified fatty acids of the seed oil of Chlorophoraexcelsawereexamined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and palmitic linoleic stearic acids were found to be the component acids of the seed oil of C. excelsa. The high percentage of linoleic and palmitic acids in the oil indicated several potential uses for the oil of C. excelsa. Kar and Mital, (1999) reported that shea butter is a natural fat obtained from the seeds of the shea tree Butyrespermumparkii, The shea butterfat was extracted from the seeds with various organic solvents, namely petroleum ether, n-hexane, chloroform, and benzene. It was concluded that these solvents, particularly petroleum ether and n-hexane, could be used for the extraction of shea butter that is free from any oxidized fat and coloring impurities. Akpan et al. (1999) carried out extraction characterization and modification of castor seed oil and reported that tested parameters which include specific gravity, refractive index, acid value, saponification value and iodine value for both crude and refined castor oil produced were within the ASTM standard specifications. In fact, the iodine value obtained (84.8) for the refined oil indicates that the oil could certainly be used as a lubricant, hydraulic brake fluid, and protecting coatings.

• AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study is aimed at the extraction and characterization of monkey kola seed oil.

The objectives are to:

1. Extract oil from the kola by the solvent extraction method.
2. Determine the Physico-chemical characters of the oil.
3. Compare data with national and international standards of repeatable oils.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research work involves the analysis of Monkey kola and its oil. Though little or no work has been done on the extraction and characterization of oil from monkey kola, so I actually don’t know if the seed of the fruit contains any oil or if the oil content in it is of high quantity and quality. Furthermore, this project will answer the following questions;

1. Solvent extraction by solvent method
2. What is the optimum yield of the particle size using n-hexane?

• Is there a significant difference in the characterization of the extracted oil as compared to theoretical value in terms of;

1. Chemical properties (Acid value, iodine value, saponification value, and peroxide value, etc.).
2. Physical properties (specific gravity, moisture content, and viscosity).

• SIGNIFICANCE/ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE STUD

Characterizing the potentials of monkey kola seed oil for many purposes has several implications. Communities in the West African countries are significantly dependent on the financial gain from the agrarian enterprise.

It is hoped that from the project, optimum extraction parameters that form the bulk quality of the oil would be established. The result would also add to the data bank that could help potential industrialist who intends to go into vegetable table oil production from monkey kola. A crop that experiences a post-harvest loss in excess of 40% in areas where malnutrition is prevalent is a problem for the potentials to reclaim the lost percentage of either food or other purposes.

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In this project work, we intend to analyze and extract completely Monkey kola and its oil. No research work has been done in giving a detailed composition found in Monkey kola, so this research account on the optimum route to:

1. Extraction of vegetable oil from monkey kola.
2. Separation of pure oil from the solvent.
3. Characterization of the oil extracted.

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